Payback
by ZombiesLoveTopHats
Summary: Set after DM2- Revenge plot- A family is one of the biggest weakness in the life of a villain, retired or not. - And sadly 'happily ever after' is hardly ever a reality.
1. Scheme in the making

Payback

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Reworked this chapter

A/N

Don't get me wrong, because I'd be lying if I didn't say I loved both the first and second film. However, with that being said, damn do I wish the makers had focused a teeny little more on the little dysfunctional family they'd crafted in the first one.

And that not a dig at Lucy- I love Lucy's' character. Shes just so spastic and wacky, it's great.

But again, dammit it illuminate!. I don't know, maybe the fact that the girls were still calling him Gru instead of Dad irked me a little in the second one. Although, how long was the time period between the first and second? It didn't seem to be that long- maybe that's why, but the relationship could have been worked on a little more!

Please, illuminate studio's, for the sake of my sanity make a third movie- I just can't seem to get enough!

Anyway, slow to start chapter to set the base of what's to come.

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Mr Theodore 'Ted' Andrews, professional hacker and self taught computer expert. Most recently known for possessing incredible skills at the game of 'hide and seek' when a few of his contacts eventually became wise to the con man rummaging through some rather important, and though to be highly encrypted, documents.

Current residence- somewhere in America, a few good miles underground.

While setting up underground base of sorts would automatically be dark and dreary, Ted was taking the phrase 'mole' in both ways. His 'home' comprised of one fifteen foot cylindrical room, walls lined in computer screens and keyboards with the only break in pattern a plain wooden door leading into a food larder, sleeping quarters/kitchen and even smaller bathroom.

It wasn't perfect but he called it home, albeit temporally.

Lounged in the only furnishing of his 'work' room, a black leather swivel chair (namely the comfiest thing in the base) Ted stared at the small device on the table to his right, illuminated only in the eerie glare of computer monitors which provided the only light- not that the place lacked light fixtures just the man chose not to use them.

Ted blinked a few times, scowling. But after deciding it was actually ringing he picked up the cell with the caution of a bomb squad, taking time to brush aside the strands of cobwebs before he checked the L.E.D screen for some sort of caller ID; His face a multitude of expressions, mostly disbelief.

It had been six months and counting since the device had sung its annoying jingle; Ted had almost forgotten how the morphed tribute to Beethoven's Moonlight sonata it screeched bounced around the confined room. He hadn't missed it. In fact it was a shame really; that was the only bearable default ringtone which wasn't that annoying cell phone pingy.

Within his ringtone musings a sudden sense of dread crawled up his spine, forcing the little hairs along his neck to stand on end. Something wasn't right; no one knew his location or 'home' number, he'd done all that was possible to seal himself away. If someone had finally managed it now, he was dead man. Over the years he'd served Federal agents, crime circles and villains alike. Slowly but surely he'd waded himself deeper and deeper into some bad company and If he hadn't pulled a Houdini when he had, he would have drowned.

It had gotten to the point where he'd started having to place evidence and slander to cause a stir between some of the more dangerous people so he'd remain protected. That and he'd successfully ripped off double the amount for outside clients and he was running out of friends.

If someone had his number now they'd discover his location, discover him. Answering now would make him a dead man, but on the other hand if they knew his number answering or not wouldn't change a thing. Not like he was going to give them a congratulating pat on the back but he was curious to see who'd managed to find him, before they ordered his death.

Against his better judgment he reached for the nearest hands free headset and secured it onto his right ear. Palms sweating buckets as his finger hovered over the answer button before that annoying jingle finally forced his hand, his heart practically in his throat as the call was redirected into the headset.

"Mr, Andrews. I presume?"

The dire situation all but lifted when the caller spoke. The voice was formal, bold but hidden under such an outdated voice scrambler it's was almost funny.

Ted smirked and answered; his voice cracked from misuse, throat dry but the caller took no notice.

"I have a job for you, Mr, Andrews. And since I am a very busy man I prefer not to beat about the bush- I have been searching for a man of your particular technological talents to aid me in taking down a adversary of mine, a retired villain by the name Felonious Gru- you may have heard of him"

Ted scoffed, brows knitted. There was a telltale hint of disgust in the caller's voice at the name that screamed this job was personal, and a feud was not a wise thing to become apart of- he'd learned that all too well. He also recognized the name, it was one of the few villains he hadn't dealt with, being as the man preferred the old fashion ways in a heist than getting a cheap one up over competition. From the circulating news it seemed to have worked well for him.

A sudden static-y clear of throat roused Ted from his thoughts- seems that his caller was an impatient man, and for that Ted kept him waiting a little longer "Your joking, right? That or your crazy, are you crazy? Retired or not that guy is notorious"

Ted swivelled in his seat to face one of the many screens on the lower wall, flashing blue text demanding his attention. He began typing for a moment, practiced movements flicking sections of cracked passwords and fragmented coding into a small selection of awaiting folders, paying clients folders. He paused in his work as the caller took a drawn breath; which sounded more of a metallic hiss, and spoke again.

"Yes I am well aware of my targets previous doings, along with yours, Mr Andrews. It would be wise to listen.

Ted irked a brow but kept the man waiting again, for laughs "I don't owe you anything"

The caller grunted, most likely in frustration. The man simply smirked, feet finding their place on a nearby tabletop, a hand meanwhile scratching through week long stubble. It was no lie or secret that he was in trouble and his new setup let him earn a little while staying anonymous- if he didn't show off.

This guy had managed to contact him where others had failed yes, but Ted was not about to be bullied into this job, this death sentence, and he was damn well going to make sure that it was known. It was curiosity that had stopped him from hanging up.

"There's only so long you can run from your debt, Te-."

Andrews laughed abruptly, cutting the caller short. So now the caller was using his first name, abandoning form and all that. Maybe a scare tactic he mused. Whatever it was in the name of, to Ted it was just proof he was getting under this mysterious callers skin. It made him smile wider.

Brushing a hand lazily through greasy locks he leaned back dangerously in the chair and stretched to a different laptop's keyboard. With a few taps of the keys another clients request was filled and sent.

"Do this one thing, for me, Mr Andrews and I'll make sure you're in the clear. No outstanding debt or villain problems"

Now this caller had visions of grandeur or, as Ted had already pointed out, the man was crazy- whatever. Andrews rolled his eyes. The whole mysterious caller under terrible static concept was fun in the beginning but this conversation was starting to become grating.

Kicking off the table to spin around to yet another screen, he minimized the long abandoned game of solitaire and typed again, completing his fourth job of the last twelve hours. A sudden small beep caught his attention on the monitor across the room and he shuffled his chair across the concrete to the main desk, a small wooden table filled to tipping point with unorganized files and three dirty mugs.

Picking up the mug with the most cold coffee and taking a sip he opened the email prompt from the client he'd just served. The fifty dollar transfer wasn't awe aspiring and neither was his complete cash in for today.

Replacing the mug back in its dust ring and rubbing his temples, Ted closed the email and leaned back into the chair.

"Ok, father Christmas, tell me how you'd manage this? You got some sort of magic wand? Bippity boppity boo, right?" He knew it couldn't be seen but on his end of the phone Ted waved his arm around for emphasis. "Oh, and who do you think will get the heat when this guy realizes he's been duped? Me! He once put a rival on the damn moon for crying out loud. I'm known as the boy who cried wolf and- as you've kindly pointed out- I have enough on my plate without another psychopath. So thanks, but no than-"

That was it, Ted would have ended the call but a roar sounded down the line, along with something far off shattering. A glass hitting the wall he presumed.

"Now listen" -Oh great.

"The only reason your still alive is because you where wise enough to crawl into that premeditated hole before anyone could catch up. You are more that capable of leading him on a wild goose chase for years. I'd only need a week to be rid of him"

In seconds the amusement melted from his expression and Ted scowled, hard. His stature stiffening as he dragged a hand down the left side of his face, tracing the raised bump of a scar under his fingertips, ear to chin- people always caught up. Andrews remained silent.

"Listen you incompetent brat, I am offering you an undeserved clean slate. You'd be able to leave that rattrap you call a home and see the sun without someone trying to kill you"

Without a scrap of humor left, Ted righted himself in his seat, face drawn into a stern line and voice low "Prove it"

It was soft at first but the caller's chuckle quickly echoed down the line, the significant click of a laptop key being hit in the background.

"Check your bank account, Mr Andrews" the caller all but laughed, Ted could practically see the man's smirk.

Again, Ted irked a brow but compiled, a transaction email icon flashing at the right hand corner of the screen. When the message popped up his breath hitched, and Theodore Andrews grinned, fingers lacing together as he leaned back- looks like his caller was a miracle worker after all.

There was a small message under the transaction, Teds own design, and inside the small box was a quickly loading list of everything needed to know of his new VIP client. The program had found the loops, cracked the protection and produced the senders true identity within seconds- not just the word Boss

Ted smirked "So tell be, what is the first order of business, Mr Perkins?"

Andrews mood skyrocketed to hear the large business man stutter on the other side the line, words tripping over each other in a huff as the voice scramblers static fizzled away "How did yo-?"

The grin had not left his face, but became increasingly wider as the conversation seemly drew to a close."I'm the best in my field for a reason"

Perkins huffed again "Well it's time to prove it then, Mr. Andrews. Get into everything you can- designs, plots upcoming- anything. I also want full access to the inner and outer surveillance of the house and when that's secure and irreversible get yourself into every single one of Gru's and Doctor Nefario's accounts- leave them both with nothing"

Well he'd already guessed, it was an unsettled feud. If it wasn't obvious before then it certainly was now. With a shrug Andrews turned to the main monitor, cracking his knuckles in preparation. The plan seemed straight forward and he wasn't bothered with the specific details to what Perkins was planning after he was granted all that access. As long as the remaining pay came through, Ted couldn't care.

"Right away, boss"

"Oh and Mr, Andrews live in the dark all you want, but for the sake of your health have a shower, you look vile"

Ted froze, hands hovering above the keyboard as that spine chilling feeling returned in a tsunami. He was up on his feet in seconds, eyes darted around the dark and then from one monitor to the next, head spinning. But before he could organize words into a reply Perkins was chuckling again; this time deeper and more sinister than a condescending quip.

"It will do you well not to let me down, Mr Andrews. Gru may not know your location but I most certainly do"

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Hope it was decent enough of a read now that I've gone back in and changed a few things around (:


	2. A Sense of Normality

Chapter 2: A Sense of Normality

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A/N

I want to take a second to thank those who have already reviewed and have chosen to follow my little story. I'm glad you guys have some faith in this- as I'm not entirely the decentest of writers (':

And I'm also sorry for the wait everyone, It's been a weirdly busy week and half.

FYI- This story takes place not long after the defeat of El Macho, Gru and Lucy haven't tied the knot yet. Also- finding the right balance in Gru's accent can be pain to write! (For me anyway, I just swap out most of the i's)

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It had been three months since the whole shark strapped to a rocket, volcano scare had provoked Gru's date request. Twelve weeks and three days to be exact, and in those ninety five days and counting Lucy Wilde had never felt more a part of a family.

Today was no exception.

Locking the car Lucy hurried down the pathway, making sure to step over the various toy's scattered around the garden and path as she jumped the front steps and stood before the front door. Knocking lightly she waited, foot tapping. She had information to be shared and the door was wasting time.

As the wooden barricade opened Lucy had to look down to greet its answerer, barely having time to smile than the chance to mutter 'hi' before she was being dragged into the house by a child dwarfed by the stuffed animal that dragged behind her.

Agnes may be small and the youngest but Lucy had to admit her size and strength were deceiving.

Not giving resistance other than closing the door, the red-head chuckled and allowed herself to be dragged down the corridor by her hand. She listened intently to the littlest babble on -mostly about unicorns and drawings- but paid attention to the surrounding walls they past and interesting decor that never failed to impress.

A lion with a dog in its mouth, dog with a cat and cat with a mouse, mounted on a heavy wooden frame. Lucy hadn't a clue what it meant, if it was suppose mean anything anyway, but it was appealing somehow no matter how many times she'd seen it.

Once in the living room Agnes ran off towards it centre, into a mound of paper, to find one of the aforementioned drawings and Lucy watched her go, expression warm.

"Hey Lucy!"

Lucy tore her gaze from Agnes and turned to the last two sisters with a greeting smile. Margo sat on the crocodile couch, remote in one hand, every so often flicking through the channels, and cell-phone in the other. Edith was perched behind her, lying on her stomach along the back of the couch, head propped up with her arms. She had most likely been trying to spy on her sister's messages.

"How's things" Lucy asked cheerfully. "Hopefully not giving your dad too much grief?"

The last comment was aimed more at Edith, and the girl acknowledged the dig by playfully sticking out her tongue, to which Lucy chuckled childishly before doing the same.

"Edith was sent to the principal's yesterday. She punched a boy square in the face" Margo replied, casually. Behind her Edith's dropped her head in her arms, letting out a muffled frustrated groan.

"Hey! He tried to steal my hat" She corrected, lifting her head to glare at the back of Margo's "I warned him but he didn't listen, so I punched him in the face. It was only a warning shot, not like I hit him full force!"

"Violence shouldn't be the first answer, Edith" Lucy frowned. Edith shrugged "It was totally in self defence. It was a little bloody, and he cried, but it's not like I broke his nose- this time"

Lucy would have retorted lightly, something following morals and better ways to settle a dispute, but a light tug at the hem of her dress stopped her. She looked down to find Agnes, having finished shuffling though her many drawings, had returned and was holding up a piece of paper.

Giving Edith a wavering glance Lucy turned her attention to the colourful paper, gently taking the item and holding it at eye level. The picture was nothing special, drawn and coloured in a crayon scrawl, but from the orange hair and blue dress it was obviously a depiction of Lucy, and the fact it was drawn for her made it beautiful and something to adore.

"It's me! And don't I look great- I love it, sweetheart" Lucy complimented, kneeling down to give the thanks in person. Admiring the bright sparkle in the child's big doe eyes Lucy couldn't help but ruffle the girl's hair. "I think this piece of art would bring some much needed life into my apartment. Mind if I keep it?"

"Of course, I drew it for you!"Agnes beamed. "Wanna' draw with me?"

Lucy shook her head sadly. Returning to full height she neatly folded the paper in her hands before slipping it into her bag "I wish I could but I'm in a rush, sweety"

Agnes expression dropped a little, brown eyes roaming the floor. In a flash, Lucy was crouched down to the girl's height again, lifting her chin up with a finger and when the two saddened brown orbs looked up Lucy challenged Agnes sudden grey cloud with a wide, contagious grin.

"No frowns, remember tomorrow's Funday! And guess who's joining you!"

Funday, the alternative to Sunday and named appropriately. The weekly event was introduced as the summer regrettably came to a close and the family spent less time together, the girls with school and Gru bogged down by lab work. Born was Funday. A non negotiable family day out controlled by the girls in turn, with the initial order being chosen by the names in a hat method.

Gru had invited Lucy a few days prior. Apart from enjoying the woman's company and having the excuse to spend an entire day with her and his girls, Lucy suspected (and she doubted she'd get him to admit) the abrupt invitation was down to the sudden realisation of it being Edith's turn. And, if previous expeditions where anything to judge by, it appeared that he wanted as much backup as possible.

Agnes was suddenly bouncing from foot to foot, little hands clasped and held close to her chest, just under her large smile. "Really, you're coming too?"

"Just you try and keep my away" Lucy gave a wink "And I promise I will sit and draw with you if there's some time afterwards. You can teach me how you colour so beautifully, I never did manage to stay within the lines"

Agnes nodded her head fervently, rushing back to her paper nest as Lucy stood, brushing the creases from her dress. "Well, before my boss goes spare I need a quick word with Gru" Lucy said, regarding the two older sisters "Any idea where he is?"

Edith was the one to answer; twisting off her stomach and onto her back. Lazily she lifted an arm and pointed across the room, Margo politely filled in the vocals."He's in the Kitchen"

With quick double thumbs up Lucy trotted down the hall and over to the kitchen, pushed one of the double doors open slightly and edged into the room. Gru was stood the other side, bulk leaning over the sink as he washed what she guessed to be the girl's dinner dishes. Eyes widening, Lucy stared for a moment at his back; eyeing the red straps and bow of an apron with amusement- she couldn't help herself, the sight was comical.

"You're washing dishes?" she chuckled, emphasising her surprise with a wide gesture.

Having heard the woman enter Gru remained passive, wiping his hands dry in a nearby cloth before turning. "He'llo to you too, and Yees-" He raised a brow in good humour, throwing the cloth over his shoulder and onto a nearby tabletop. Noticing her gaze his red apron followed. Clearing his throat he spoke again "-I was washing de dishes. I don't see why that es weird"

Lucy shrugged "I've seen those little yellow helpers of yours wandering around the house with hoovers and dusters-" Quickly she decided against mentioning seeing one of them wearing a spiffy maid's outfit, for sanity's sake mainly. "-And no offence, but to me you don't look the type to stroll around with a dustbuster or a rag and polish. Guess I just assumed the munchkin's did all the housework"

Gru gave a half smile, an arm folding behind his back, the other animated his words. "Just so you know I'm not go'en to take that as an insult. And yee's they do, to some extent. But e'f I want to keep my china plate's e'ts better if I do the deshes myself"

"Ah, good point." Lucy tittered.

It made sense; minions had proved themselves to be useful creatures, albeit distracted beings. With their understanding of teamwork often being as foreign a concept as English speech. Lucy had witnessed it firsthand, minion cooperative attempts ending with large scale destruction, impressive messes or -on Gru's word-the loss of a small island.

"Wee'll I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow and you dedn't make the trip here to complement my housework-"His humour switched out for a twinge of worry "Sometheng wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong and sadly I'm not here with kitchen compliments- although I do like that apron" Lucy smirked lightheartedly. "What I am here with is some great news! Back at the AVL headquarters I've been pushing my views, pulling some strings and pleading case- and Silas has finally listened!"

"Pleadeng case about what, exactly?" Gru questioned, words drawing out. From her enthusiasm it was pretty obvious that the 'exciting information' was something to do with the AVL, a form of partnership no doubt, but he wasn't sure on the play-out and it was starting to bother him.

"Oh, just the many advantages brought with the employment of a certain villain. So-" He hadn't witnessed her move but Lucy was suddenly next at his side, covering the distance between them in a blink, smile wide, and in the energy Gru had came to expect she began to roll her clenched fists in a little drum roll "-how do you feel about fully joining the AVL"

As expected Gru had seen it coming, somewhat, but he couldn't help being a little confused. His arms crossed over his chest, a brow rising "I'm preety sure I already wo'rk for AVL"

Lucy waved him off; failing to be even a little offbeat from his complete lack of excitement. "No no, I don't mean just constructing weapons and schematics, although you and the doctor have been doing an excellent job" she encouraged and seated herself on one of the stool running along the breakfast bar. Lucy was barely able to remain still, seemly struggling to contain her bubbling excitement.

Gru remained sombre, but with quirk of a smile on his lip, and although concentrating on the odd job offer he still took into account the woman's movements.

Gesturing with her hands she continued, voice steadily climbing in volume. Her movements becoming more and more erratic "Ramsbottom is finally offering you a place at the Anti-villain-league, as a field agent and - more importantly- my partner!" Hopping off the stool she finished by thrusting her arms in the air.

"Seriously?"

He hadn't meant for his reply to sound as sceptical but the whole offer seemed far too easy. Silas wasn't going to invite an ex-villain into the cooperation fulltime with open arms, especially not one who'd recently embarrassed the director. The first offer had only been a one off. Mainly as no one else was capable of tracking down the mysterious mall villain and the cooperation was desperate.

Unless there was something big happening, and Gru doubted it, there had to be an incoming catch. Lucy had yet to notice Gru's reservations. She'd known the man just long enough to fathom his attitude so she put off his current actions as a default reaction.

Briefly, she pulled her lips into a determined line.

"Isn't it exciting?! Yes it took awhile for me to convince Silas, but he eventually came around to the idea that you'd be a huge help to the AVL. It's going to be me and you working together again, out on the field kicking butts - its going be great. But, it's just..." She paused for a beat, swiftly aware of Gru's full attention seemingly snapping to the sentence.

Her hands clasped together behind her, softly fidgeting beyond his gaze, allowing some nerves to calm. Without warning the childhood method of band aid removal came to mind- quick and painless.

"Silas has an assignment for you first"

"And Silas believes it might sound better come'ng from you?"

"No-"Lucy assured, voice becoming lower, taking a serious tone "I thought it would sound better coming from me."

Gru was momently quieted, words caught and Lucy utilized the break for a composing breath "Ramsbottom wants the location of the bank of evil"

Gru could almost laugh- there was the catch, a big one.

"No" he stated. His expression didn't change but Lucy took note of his sharp tone with a grimace, all the previous excitement she harboured taking a steep nosedive.

"There would be no evidence of-"

"Et would make no defference" Gru announced abruptly. He hadn't meant to cut her short, and after catching her fall in expression his stomach was suddenly not sitting right.

Heaving a sigh he continued "First, eet es not an assignment- et's a conde'tion. And Silas knows full well that ees a conde'tion I cannot and wee'll not meet"

Lucy narrowed her eyes slightly in thought, brows knitting. Gru took the look as a silent prompt to explain further.

"One veelains wrath is easy enough to deal with, perhaps a dozen or so if half de number are behind bars. But the entire clientele of that bank- that's hundreds of veelains and over quarter are deadly by themselves."Gru explained, unaware he had started to pace. Lucy's eyes followed him. "I'm no fan of Perkins, and I don't need a bett'r reason to take revenge. But if I give up the location of that bank and the AVL move in it won't be just him taking the fall."

Lucy nodded "And you're the only villain that has worked for the AVL"

"Exactly, and that e's the only evidence the outstandeng vellains would need. So If Silas doesn't trust me that's hees problem. I am not putting my fame'ly in danger for some superfice'al pledge of loyalty"

"Sorry, I never thought. I didn't see the possible complications. Guess I was too caught up with the idea of working with you, huh" Lucy muttered, off shouldering her bag and placing it on the tabletop for something to do.

"It's Silas that's at fault. He's happy to send weapon requests but obviously doesn't want me as a fe'eld agent."

"Well, I want you to know that I trust you" Lucy stated, abruptly and again whatever Gru was about to say became lost as he turned to the woman.

Truthfully, he hadn't really considered if she did or didn't trust him. But now that it was brought up, and the more he thought about it, he was unsure. And it showed in his reply as he just looked at her, confusion that translated into a silent 'You do?'

She shook her head; to shake her chuckle but mostly out of disbelief he would question such a thing.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't be fighting to prove it otherwise. Think back a few months, at that festival. You had the chance to join El Macho, rule the world. There was nothing stopping you. But you didn't, you turned and walked away. It was like you never considered it."

"I de'dnt"

"And that was my argument with Silas. What I hoped would sway him to give you the field agent position. I trusted you way before that though" Meeting his gaze, blue to green, she smiled fondly and took strides toward him, heels clicking steadily on the hardwood. "You might have proven yourself in my books the moment I wasn't greeted with the inside of a volcano" Her hands found his shoulders, and slowly his settled on her waist.

"But the way I see it, if such an 'untrustworthy' man as yourself can earn the love of three intelligent little girls-"Her tender smile was present in both her expression and eyes as she leaned in slightly "-then he can't be all that bad"

There was an abrupt cough, not loud or impolite but to announce presence and the two jumped away, red in the face. It didn't take long to locate Dr, Nefario. His goggled gaze peered from a feed playing on the surface glass of the microwave.

Gru turned to address the scientist, tips of his ears burning. Lucy peeped from behind Gru's shoulder, fingers nimbly drumming there before she stepped aside, giving the doctor a timid smile and small wave. The doctor's face was unreadable and remained so.

"Not to interrupt but there's lab matters to attend to, Gru. When you're ready of course"

The doctor was gone before Gru could respond. With a quiet sigh he turned and Lucy met his gaze, puffing up her cheeks with a breath she quickly expelled. "Well I'm still on the clock. I'd better be going. I meant what I said though, Gru. I'll talk to Silas, explain the problem."

Quickly, she planted a kiss on his cheek, grabbed her bag from the counter and made for the door. She paused in step, turning with a thought "Oh and for tomorrow, please make sure Edith leaves the ninja gear at home this time"

Gru smiled, genuinely. "I'll see you tomorrow"

It is known throughout the villain world that Mr, Perkins is not a man to be messed with. His first name unknown by most and those few who know never utter. Once partners but now sole owner of the credited Bank of Evil, the heavyset banker was not considered but noted to be as malicious as any and all the villains served at the establishment. Rumour say it was what kept the bank afloat, the man's watchful eye and intimidating aurora, and the reason behind the disappearance of his fabled partner.

It was also known universally known that Mr, Perkins was a patient man. A trait that served him well both under his business and apprehension of situations, personal and work wise. Most recently he'd discovered when revenge was on the plate patience was the golden ticket of forming a great plan, one that would fail terribly in the rashness brought by anger.

So it was to say where other villains would have struck target before the dust settled, Perkins reclined comfortably, hands entwined as he schemed, pulling up every venous idea he could muster, fuelled by multiple motives, and festered.

Gru had shamed his son, stole the title and the place in villain history that should have been Vectors, or more importantly Victor Perkins. Perkins was going to make the man pay dearly.

The first line of business was to retrieve Vector from the moon's surface. Vector, apart from a nasty cold, returned unscathed, mentally unaffected but not empty handed.

When Victor Perkins wandered into the banker's office, orange clad and sipping a same coloured soft drink through a straw, he brought with him an iron cage. From habit the eldest Perkins expected in contained something marine based but instead was pleasantly surprised to find inside the prison sat a yellow goggled creature, dressed in overalls and nonchalantly clutching a glass beaker.

Interrogation was the obvious next step, and the minion succumbed to threats near instantly, but any information the creature had become lost in translation. It was obvious that Gru had planned ahead with their construction.

Holding the minion hostage was a terrible idea, it was common knowledge the man controlled hundreds, maybe thousands of the things and Perkins was quick to correct his son when it was mentioned, along with Kidnap of the girls, which sounded petty- and redundant.

The minion could be useful, but personal kidnap would be tricky, and not to mention was already a tried, tested and failed plan.

Even with the creature Perkins plan was still lacking.

So Vector, somewhat good with technology, was tasked with browsing for potential partners for his father over the villain database. A place for all aspiring world rulers, risk takers and big time thieves that called themselves villains to find potential partners, information moles or place bounties.

It was there Vector came across the name of Theodore Andrew, infamous hacker, incredible hider. The wanted message was quite large, bold and bright, and had a significant amount sum reward to pipe Perkins curiosity to read up on the man.

It was then the plan all fell into place.

It may have taken the better part of a year to find the hacker, and a few wasted favours by some bigwigs, but he regretted nothing; it would be all worth it in the end.

Under the span of a day's contact with Ted two emails's arrived. Inside the first was a simple text smiley face, placed above a light blue highlighted address. The single link read three words 'The Grotto security'- Ted the not so funny comedian.

Perkins was sceptical at first, almost nervous and unwilling to click the address, but once the web page loaded he chuckled himself into a hearty laugh.

Perkins had full access to a secured live stream of every camera in Gru household, from living room to laboratory. Everyone feed mapped out in a handy grid of twelve by twelve squares, perfect fit of the large man's laptop screen, with the added ability to enlarge any window at whim. Once enlarged, three round buttons appeared for the man to freeze, loop or blackout selected feeds.

An added note told he had the same influence over security codes and doors.

With the good tidings of the first, Perkins found himself eager to open the email's predecessor, and though it lacked the firsts happy emote it was equally as pleasing.

The second email contained an attachment, a document filled with the blueprints of weapons old and new, and the technology advancements of Gru's and the doctors own designs. It also revealed contact details of recent outside sources and numbers of schematics, ranging from the house and laboratory initial construction to the mechanisms behind the now not so secret lab entrance.

The only thing Ted could not access was the wealth as, apparently, Gru and Nefario have an onsite safe deep within the bowls of the house. It was a somewhat disappointing turn of events but not a setback. Perkins sat on a bank; even with Vectors losses last year, he could still easily fund the little expedition.

Currently Perkins laptop featured two feeds. In one window Gru and Nefario worked on some form of weapon, small scale but evidently dangerous. With both men's backs turned a one eyed minion crept up, caught a hold of the gun, instantly spun and shot one of its nearby comrades, sending it off-screen with a shriek. It was typical viewing.

The other window was a feed of Vector's design, a small orange lined square bordering the inside live streamed antics of paranoid hacker with questionable hygiene. The man had his back to the observing camera, sat on the tall swivel chair with his knees brought up. His head peeked over the top of the headrest and every so often it would twitch to survey the surrounding's.

It was commonly said that intelligent people lacked common sense and Perkins had to agree. If Andrews possessed any he would have long figured that it was not the dodgy monitor on his left or a now unplugged webcam that spied on him, but a three day old pizza box discarded on a close by tabletop. Surprisingly Vectors idea.

Perkins smirked, eyes aglitter. Slowly he brought the new porcelain mug to his lips- the other having been thrown against the wall- and took a long, meaningful sip of coffee.

The large banker was content. The gamble had paid off and the wildcard had come through with remarkable results. The plan was off the ground. All that was needed to kick-start the wheels was possession of a shrink ray. Since the original laboratory schematics had been destroyed after the weapons theft, Gru now had the only working copy in the world.

Not a problem.

Typing up an email, signifying pick-up details and weapon of choice, he signed it Ramsbottom and with a low chuckle, Perkins sent it off to his hacker employee to be authenticated and redirected.

* * *

The next chapter is coming soon ~


End file.
